With the help of a conversion optimization services company WiderFunnel Marketing Inc., Tourism BC employed Google Website Optimizer to increase the effectiveness of a $1.5 million television ad campaign targeted at the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets to attract more visitors to British Columbia. The aim was to maximize ad campaign conversion rates (the number of people who fill out an information request form online).

The campaign urged viewers to visit HelloBC.com and request additional information. Visitors who clicked on the site could download or request a destination guide as well as enter a contest to win an Apple iMac computer. Meanwhile, to maximize form completion conversion, Tourism BC tested different versions of the campaign landing page by using Google Website Optimizer to measure the effectiveness of the various iterations.

"The Google Website Optimizer allowed us to precisely gauge and improve our campaign success," said Joel Tkach, Marketing Manager, Consumer Programs, North America. "We now have the ability to test and adjust our landing page creative in real-time to maximize response generated from our television spots."

According to Tkach, the Google Website Optimizer tool enabled Tourism BC to quickly learn how to maximize its site performance. Google supplied detailed reports that showed responses to variations of online text and visuals that echoed the themes in the TV commercials. Further analytics revealed which combinations of words and pictures facilitated the greatest response among Tourism BC's target audiences.

The Google Website Optimizer provided Tourism BC with the winning combination to drive traffic to its web site and ultimately, increase travel to the province. By designing the landing page to showcase the talent in the commercial along with added emphasis to the iMac prize, the result was a 52 percent form completion conversion rate - nearly a 7 percent increase over a similar campaign of a year ago. The math is impressive: for every 100 customers who request information from Tourism BC, 30 percent of them will ultimately visit British Columbia, spending, on average, $2,200 per visitor party, per trip.